On a date
by GamblingDementor
Summary: 30 day OTP challenge: Day four, your OTP on a date. AU set at some point in the past. Varrick is tired of all his dates and finds the best solution: why not invite Zhu Li on a date?


The engine of the boat was already roaring by the time Varrick's date even noticed that he was gone. She was a beautiful young woman and had kept him distracted for a while, but after the third mention of marriage in half an hour, he felt he had heard enough. He had given his assistant the silent gesture that meant he wanted to sail away and Zhu Li had prepared the ship almost instantly without them being noticed. He was always most thankful for her presence, especially when she helped rescue him from his less fortunate evenings. She was an excellent helmsman and had been steering ships for him more times than he could remember. His assistant was definitely an indispensable asset. Owning ships in every harbour in the world had its perks, too, of course. He always met up with his partners near the sea just in case he had to resort to that strategy.

Zhu Li had set sail to the South Pole at his command. Setting the compass, aiming the tiller were things Varrick had never learned how to do himself. He took the opportunity to take a walk around the deck. His journey through the Fire Nation isles had come to an abrupt end and he would miss the beautiful warm beaches of the archipelago.  
>"Zhu Li, take a note."<br>The assistant immediately let go of the wheel to grab the new idea notepad. The boat jerked eastwards with full force without her steering it and Varrick fell flat on his stomach. A crewman took control of the wheel while Zhu Li, completely oblivious to Varrick's embarrassing fall, sat next to him. The ideas began flowing in his head and there was no time to stand up.  
>"Artificial beaches for the water tribes with integrated heating beneath the sand."<p>

Zhu Li scribbled at a speed that would put any other assistant to shame.

"Cocktail bars with platypus-bear waiters. Frozen melon cubes to cool off drinks. Umbrella-integrated cooling fans. Self-cleaning and folding towels."  
>Finally out of inspiration, he stood up and stretched, leaving Zhu Li to the task of bringing the idea list to the development team. Hopefully, the artificial beaches would attract many Water Tribe people tired of the cold and bring a lot of profit. Perhaps he would even meet nice young ladies. It seemed that every other date he met up with was a complete failure these days. They were either completely bland and unremarkable or exclusively interested by his money, which while he did not mind for friends or business partners, he despised for potential love interest.<p>

He was still half brooding over his bad experiences in his personal living room cabin when Zhu Li brought him tea.  
>"Thank you, Zhu Li," he said quietly.<br>She stood next to him as he sipped the jasmine tea. She'd long since mastered the art of brewing tea and he more than enjoyed the perfect amount of honey she brought to it. He was minded to send her away and be left alone to his thoughts, but didn't. After all, he was used to having Zhu Li close to him at any time and you couldn't really call her a disturbance.  
>"How many times do you think we'll have to pull off this kind of escape?"<br>He realized he had spoken out loud when Zhu Li evenly said that it would probably happen a couple more times. She poured him a second serving of tea when he put the cup down. How attentive she could be.  
>"You know, Zhu Li, sometimes I feel you are the only one who is truly worth having around."<br>She gave no answer. It dawned on him that what he'd just said was absolutely true. He always spoke freely and he had just uttered it in frustration with the world, but he now saw the truth of it all. Zhu Li was the most loyal person in his life. She understood him better than anyone else and had seen him through ups and downs. If anyone was the right person for him, it had to be Zhu Li.  
>"That's it! Zhu Li! I know what to do!"<br>Still no reaction from her. No surprise there. She only answered to direct questions, leaving him to his reflections when he was just thinking out loud. He gave himself at least a full minute to think over his plan.  
>"Zhu Li, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow evening?"<p>

As much as he found it in himself to enjoy silence sometimes, he found it rather inappropriate right at this very moment. He turned to look at his assistant. She was looking straight at him with the wildest expression of surprise on her face. He had never seen her display such a strong emotion. Or any emotion, really.  
>"Well, you heard me! Say something!"<br>She snapped back into assistant mode, closing her gaping mouth and wiping her expression off her face.  
>"I'm afraid I misunderstood your request, Sir."<br>"Of course you didn't! You're the smartest assistant I've ever met! Now give me a clear answer, yes or no, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow evening?"  
>Her eyes fluttered just a second, her mouth thin. She nodded, her face giving nothing away.<br>"Yes, Sir."  
>"Now that's what I like to hear! Make sure to be ready tomorrow at eight sharp because <em>we<em> are going out!"

By the next afternoon, Varrick realized that Zhu Li had left his side at some point. When he had asked her for tea, he had receided no answer and definitely no tea. He had thought nothing of it at first, but had to admit that her absence had left an emptiness in the rest of his day. He tried to do his own manicure and failed miserably, to comb his hair but looked terrible, to pluck his eyebrows but looked ridiculous. Finally, it was time to pick up Zhu Li. He stepped across the hall and knocked on her door.  
>"Zhu Li! It's time for our date!"<br>A full minute passed. Varrick was beginning to get nervous and was tapping his feet against the floor and his fingers against the wall when the door opened.

Zhu Li was wearing a blue dress with white furs on the wrists and the collar, a beautiful outfit he had never seen before. Her hair was up in an elegant bun and she was wearing pearl earrings. She was very pretty and Varrick cursed himself for never telling her before. He knew he would only seem to be complimenting her like he only now noticed she was pretty and he would look like an idiot, but he also had to admit that it was partly true. He had not seen her beauty before, not like this.  
>"Zhu Li, by the spirits, you look wonderful!"<br>Her cheeks betrayed the slightest tint of pink and she slid a lock of hair behind her ear, giving him a timid smile he had never seen. Thinking about it, he had never seen Zhu Li smile at all. It suited her very well and he vowed to make it happen again, and often. Offering his arm, he led them to the restaurant of the ship. He had wanted to take her to a fancy restaurant as he liked to do with his other dates but it had proved impossible in the middle of the ocean. He hoped that the date would go well for the both of them and that they would be able to go on another dinner at his favourite noodle place in the Southern Water Tribe, just the two of them.

The restaurant was almost empty. A waiter was playing cards on a corner table, whistling. Varrick held the door open for Zhu Li and hailed the busy young man.  
>"Lee, I would like a table for two! Zhu Li and I are having dinner together!"<br>"Yes, Sir. Right away."  
>There was a free table next to a large porthole. Actually, there were free tables everywhere. There was no one but them, since they were only here because of this escape mission thing. On a normal day with the crew, it would have been crowded. The restaurant was not as big as a real restaurant. This was after all only Varrick's escape ship. He had a decent-sized restaurant on the Zhu Li. He didn't want to find himself in a war without proper meals if things were to take that kind of turn.<p>

They sat near the window and for a while, neither could say anything. He looked right at her, realized he was staring, looked away at the sea. She took a few glances, her cheeks still pink. After a while, he thought he might say something, anything. He opened his mouth, but her eyes full of timid hope made him feel like anything he would say would be ridiculous. What an idiot he was. He closed his mouth and looked away again, rather troubled. In turn, Zhu Li meant to speak but her words died on her lips when the lanky waiter appeared at their table, and Varrick never knew what she'd wanted to say.  
>"What would you like to eat, Sir?"<br>Damn waiter. Zhu Li looked away from him and Varrick frowned when he turned to the man.  
>"What kind of question is that? Same thing I always eat on this ship! The chef's suggestion! You know I hate taking decisions like that."<br>"… Of course, Sir. And for you, er, miss?"  
>"Same," Zhu Li said and she looked rather embarrassed.<br>Perhaps she found it strange to be served by people who were just as much employees of his as she was.

Silence fell back as soon as the waiter was gone.

"So… Zhu Li… er… What do you do?"

"I'm your assistant, Sir."

"Oh. Right."

Their eyes met and some sort of a sparkle passed between them, that he couldn't explain. When she spoke, it was with a discreet smirk, as if they had a joke going on between them that no one else could understand, but Varrick could not tell what exactly.

"And what do _you_ do?"

"I'm the richest merchant in the world!"

"How fascinating."

He almost swelled his torso in pride at her approval, but realized that was silly. She was only trying to say something to fill the silence. He'd better try to make real conversation.

"So, do you have family?"

He knew that was poor wording. Everyone had a family, even if they were not in touch. He himself owed much of his fortune to the way his dear mother had raised him.

"Yes, Sir, I have a sister."

"You can call me Varrick if you want, you know. My dates usually do. Or they call me handsome, ha ha!"

The look on her face told him his joke had fallen flat and he stopped laughing at once, coughing awkwardly.

"Anyway… A sister, mmh? I'm an only child myself."

She nodded politely to acknowledge him.

"That explains much."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"There you go, Sir, today's special," the waiter interrupted and Varrick startled. He had not even heard him come at all. "Elephant-koi filets with Ba Sing Se dressing and assorted beans."

Varrick watched Lee leave and turned to his plate. It was steaming, which meant Varrick had to wait for a while. He would have to speak to the cook about the proper temperature to serve a dish.

He noticed Zhu Li hadn't waited at all. By the time he even picked up his chopsticks, she had already eaten a few bites.

"Wow, Zhu Li, you eat so fast!"

She gave him a blank stare.

"I eat efficiently."

"Oh, I'm not judging! I just never noticed before. You certainly have a healthy appetite!"

"This is how it's done in Ba Sing Se."

"Oh yeah, the dressing. I don't think they have elephant koi in Ba Sing Se."

"This dressing is a favourite of mine. But I mean it's commonplace to eat your dish as fast as you can in Ba Sing Se. It shows appreciation."

"Does it? In the Water Tribe, we take our time to eat and enjoy our time with the host."

"I never said I didn't enjoy my time here," she said and hid her smile by taking a bite out of a fish chunk.

"Do you come from Ba Sing Se, then?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You know you can call me Varrick!"

"Yes. I forgot."

"Well, in any case, I never knew where you come from!"

"You never asked."

He pouted at her curt reply and she shrugged giving him a wink. A _wink_. Zhu Li actually _winked_ at him.

There were many things he asked her that night. He learned many things and deeply regretted never asking anything sooner. Zhu Li was a very interesting woman. She was smart, compassionate and could be very teasing too, which was a surprise to him. She definitely had more than what met the eye, she was a real treasure when she opened up. He learned that she had a certain sense of dry humour that he liked very much. He learned that her sister Jing had three children and that she regularly sent her pictures of them. He learned that Zhu Li had studied engineering at the university of Ba Sing Se before he hired her − you'd think he would know that, given he was her employer. Her favourite colour was blue. She used to visit the Jasmine Dragon all the time. Her dad had died when she'd been a little girl, her mom was a shopkeeper in the Middle Ring. She loved ancient Earth Kingdom fables like the tale of Omashu, even though she liked old Fire Nation tragedies as well. She was intelligent, she was interesting, she was fascinating.

They talked and talked for hours and Varrick prided himself in making her such a chatterbox. She just needed to know he listened to her and she turned into an adorable young woman who had the most interesting conversations, was funny, cute, resourceful and was definitely the best date he had ever had. In fact, the next time the waiter came to their table, it took him tapping on Varrick's shoulder for him to notice the young man, because he had simply been too involved in the conversation to care about the rest of the world. There was this embarrassing moment when his tea spilled and he called out for Zhu Li to do the thing, before remembering that Zhu Li would in fact not do the thing tonight because it was not usual for dates to be assistants at the same time. He apologized several times and called for Lee to wipe the tea and she seemed to find the whole thing amusing.

It was way past nightfall when they decided to call it quits, after Varrick's elbow slipped under his head for the third time. It felt just a little silly to take her by the arm to bring her back to her room, knowing he was sleeping just in front of her anyway, that he always told her goodbye by her door every night.

"Zhu Li…"

"Yes?" she said far more eagerly than she ever spoke at all.

"I had a great night with you."

She smiled shyly and looked away, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"I had fun, too."

"Would you be interested in going out with me again? Because I really would!"

"I would love to."

They looked into each other's eyes and the sparkle that had been present all night was suddenly too much. Slowly, tentatively, he took her hands in his and saw her eyes widen with what looked like excitement.

"You really are one of a kind, you know."

The tip of her tongue licked her lower lip, a very discreet gesture, whether spontaneous or made to seduce him, he did not know.

"I really enjoyed myself tonight, Varrick."

"I'm happy to hear that."

Her eyes shone and her smile was the most lovely sight he had ever seen.

He was about to make the first move when at once, her lips were upon his, her hands around his neck, and the only thing he could do was hold onto her waist and let her do the thing. Her lips were soft against her, but persisting, and soon his mouth opened under her ministrations. Her hands wrought in his hair, his arms tightened around her, holding on to his dear life. The kiss was over as suddenly as it began and left him wanting far more.

"Thank you for the date," she said and licked her lip. "Goodnight."

She escaped his grasp and opened the door of her room, slipping away from him, at least for now. He stared at the door for a full minute as if struck by lightning, ridiculously happy, before going to his own room. There would definitely be a second date.


End file.
